“Apple iPhones and other U.S. goods could suffer sales hits in China if President-elect Donald Trump goes through with his ‘naive’ plan of slapping a large import tariff on Chinese products, a state-backed newspaper warned on Sunday,” Arjun Kharpal reports for CNBC. ” Should any such policy come into effect, China will take a ‘tit-for-tat approach,’ according to an opinion piece in the Global Times, a newspaper backed by the Communist party.”
“As an example of earlier tariff-tit-for-tats, the Global Times pointed toward the 35 percent tariffs imposed in 2009 on Chinese tires. China retaliated with its own tariffs on U.S. car parts and chicken,” Kharpal reports. “The opinion piece said Trump was a ‘shrewd businessman’ and would not be naive, but, if he was serious with the policy, it would affect a number of U.S. industries.”
“America’s relationship with China is in focus after Trump slammed the world’s second-largest economy during his campaign. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump spoke over the phone on Sunday,” Kharpal reports. “‘During the call, the leaders established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another, and President-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward,’ a statement from Trump’s presidential transition team said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Speculation and a lot of “ifs” in, and generated by, an opinion piece. Let’s wait to see what really happens.
SEE ALSO:
Donald Trump’s trade rhetoric splits GOP and makes traditional economists quake – March 15, 2016
Trump could cost U.S. consumers $6 billion per year by imposing a 35% tariff on Apple iPhone – January 19, 2016
